Bomburs Journey
by skadifryea
Summary: this is a follow up to a story written on :  /s/4304491/1/Bombur-s-Diet by Primsong kinda an extension alternate ending. I posted it here first because I'm a tad OCD with things like this which is why I don't do stories very often. I get overly involved and end up making insane amounts of reference materials and illustrations . AU story bombur decides he no longer wants to be fat
1. Chapter 1

Bombur's Belly Chapter one : revision 2  
>Ok, this is a follow up to a story written on :<br>s/4304491/1/Bombur-s-Diet  
>by Primsong<p>

kinda an extension alternate ending. I posted it here first because I'm a tad OCD with things like this which is why I don't do stories very often. I get overly involved and end up making insane amounts of reference materials and illustrations . and the fact that I am ADD dyslexic and have a difficult time with Prose, but I suppose this is as good an exercise in that as any.. expect 10,000 revisions .

_

Chapter 1

Bombur laid on a cushion next to the dinner table. He groans from being way over stuffed , was reflecting on his state, and what he was about to do next.

Bombur was fat , enormous Currently near 320lbs of blubber and near bursting point. But he hadn't always been that way. He thought back to his childhood. .

He was a average boy, his mother always made him healthy snacks for a dwarf, goat milk, potato cakes, and cheeses were staples in the house along with kale, cabbage and other cold weather vegetable and root crops that grew along the mountains. It wasn't until he was five that one greedy act allowed hunger to posses him. He was out playing hide and seek in the Blue Mountains with his Brother , and older cousin Bifur , when a dark stranger came across him and offered him some sugar cake.

Bombur had never had this type of cake before and ate it greedily, then was given a few more to share with his friends. But instead of sharing he ate all the cakes as soon as he was out of the strangers sight. After that he was always hungry. The nagging force invaded his stomach always begged to be filled. It would drive him to sneak meals and added much bulk to his frame. Soon he developed into a pudgy boy. The constant hunger had possessed him for years and couldn't be tamed until he found an occupation that mostly distracted him during the days and won him the praise of his peers.

When he was 40, he started his apprentice work in the forge as was custom. Dwarves were considered of age at 40 and it was expected of his line of that they would pick up one of the working class skills either mining, tinkering or smiting. Bomburs father worked the forges and he got him the apprenticeship. Bombur was still quite heavy then a flabby 230 lbs, larger then was common for a younger dwarf. His first few months were difficult, as he was clumsy and had a habit of knocking things over and burning himself. But after a while he learned to be a little more careful and as time went on, even though at home he still stuffed his face and occasionally stole Bofurs desserts, he was becoming less round.

His gradual shrinking also started to increase his agility and the forge master began giving him harder more delicate tasks like actually learning the art of smiting. The heat of the forge, extra exercises of swigging a hammer, and working the bellows were enough to offset the gorging he did on his off hours. For the first time in his life, the calories he downed were not adding excess on his frame. His mother was the first to point this out to him, grabbing him by the arm one day after breakfast before he rushed off to work. She pulled him close to her and hugged him close, and with a hand on the red fuzz that was thickening around his young face she told him how proud she was of her little baby boy becoming such a handsome young man and following in his father footsteps. His mother watched the boys grow up over the next few years knowing that soon they would have to leave to start their own families. Bombur and Bofur grew into strong and skilled young Dwarves.

Even though Bombur never really lost his excessive appetite, after a few years of honing his skills he had become a lean 190lbs . Bofur advanced also and was eventually promoted to a foreman at the mine site and was in charge of mapping out new tunnels and mines to fine better ore deposits , something he had a knack for and this suited him because it allowed him to explore. At the same time Bombur became prized as a master smith . These accomplishments made their family very proud, his father was very happy to have both a son who was so prized at the forge and they had become quite close during his apprentice ship and latter promotions and one who could fine the best veins in the mountain.. Once Bombur was promoted to a Master Smith, His father Chose to retire and he and their mother decided to travel a little more and trade goods that their sons had crafted. They found these sold very well in the human and even some elvish settlements in the Valley of Ered Luin, and they would occasionally travel further East thru Eriador.

Bomburs work was sought after by the most esteemed families in the Mountain kingdom ,who knowing his appetite, would happily bring him delicacies to ensure they were getting the finest of his crafts. Bombur enjoyed this time of his life, not only the feasting, but praises and he greedily accepted both of them. Bombur was eventually promoted to Thorin's Halls Master Crafter and was instrumental in overseeing the crafting of statues, armor and weapons.

But sadly this didn't last. When he reached his 120's a disaster struck and depression hit. Because of this old temptations started to override his want to craft and he began spending more time feasting on comfort food and less at his forge.

Bofur and Bifur, tried several things to move him from his slump, from having him join them on mining expeditions, to talking him into joining them to seek trade as they had made plenty of crafts and toys and tinkers bits to sell. They talked Bombur into adding some of his finer jewelry and weapons to their wagon. His brother thought the extra exercise of a journey and maybe a change of scenery, and Praise of his skilled workmanship by someone other then dwarves, would be good for his brothers mood. Sadly he was wrong. Once the cousins left the mountain to wander Eriador, Bombur quickly turned to the food in his pack to comfort him, and choose to ride the cart sulking, rather then walk beside his relations. Even though Bofur at every chance tried to find ways to get him engaged in the travels. Bombur only really joined in any activities at meal times where he had established himself as cook. His choice at only passively engaging in their travels rapidly fleshed himself out to near 220 lbs. Bofur's trade journeys over the next few years took the cousins all over the area between the Blue Mountains and Misty Mountains where Bifur and Bofur would always look south to there lost Home of Moria., returning only to their home in the Blue Mountains to restock. They traveled from Thorins Halls to Bree, and back thru Ered Luin and to the dwarven homesteads that surrounded the abandoned Broadbeam city of Gabilgathol.

These trips went on for several years , Pony cart, and clan trading, toys, daggers, armor, what ever weapons Bombur had left in his cache since it had now been quite a while since he had made any new ones. One night near Autumn , after the Dwarves had done trade in Bree and were on their way back to the Blue Mountains by way of the north Shire . The cousins had stopped for the night to make camp, Bombur was tasked with making a fire for dinner and keeping a look out while Bifur set up the camp, and Bofur hunted hares on the moor below the hills. Bombur disinterested until their was food to cook decided to nap while he waited supplies. Shortly after the portly 240 lb Dwarf dozed off, the band was set upon by a small wandering pack of orcs that had wandered south from Carn Dûm to the woods east of Bree near the North Downs. Bifur who was focused on pitching the tent was first to be attacked and Bombur was woken by a loud scream. Have failed as a look out Bifur was already seriously wounded by an ax embed in his skull. Stunned but reactive, Bifur was able to fight off the first orc. As Bofur who was near enough that he was able to scramble to fight off on the second. Bombur was late to the party, and a little slow, but once he got moving he reveled in the fight. Knocking out three orcs with a handy iron laddie. The last few years of sedentary lifestyle hadn't completely sapped his strength and he was briefly enjoying the rush that the skirmish gave him. Unfortunately this wasn't much comfort to his massively injured cousin.

With three orcs dead, one mortally wounded and the last run off, Bofur was able to get a look at his cousin. Alive, a testament to dwarf fortitude. But unable to communicate clearly.

Bifur tried to speak but could only manage grunts, until he cursed quite plainly in his native tongue. Bifur answered him in Khazâd and they realized that he could still communicate that way. A minor silver lining, but they still needed to slow the bleeding and get him to a healer to see about his head wound.

The ax was buried deep, Bofur took charge, and instructed his brother to get him a number of clean towels from the packs, and some stiff leather bracers. Bofur had Bifur lay down on some blankets in the wagon and told him to remain still. Once he had the requested materials he told Bombur to start packing the camp quickly , they were leaving for Bree. He used the bracer around the ax handle to steady it on his cousins head so it wouldn't move. He then used the towels to pack the wound the best he could to stop the bleeding. After that he wrapped it as best he could to keep the packing and restraints from moving and wrapped his cousin in blankets to keep him warm. . At that point camp was hastily repacked and the three made a urgent three hour journey to Bree from the Edge of the old forest.

Bofur had Bifur on the wagon, and made Bombur run alongside, he silently did this as punishment for napping instead of acting as the lookout. Bombur already pretty spent from straining himself way more then he was used to, and now running low on adrenaline, eventually ended up quite a ways behind. Bofur ran the ponies as quickly as they could go under load, and they covered the thirty miles to town in about three hours, although Bombur took about five to eventually catch up.. After this set back the three returned to Thorin's halls and Bombur took up cooking until there was issued a quest for Erebor and Bofur having an adventurous bug convinced his family to again make the journey to try to retake the mountain.

Bombur now 260lbs signed on as a chef, at the prodding of Bofur who was still the ring leader and always out for a new adventure, they Brought their cousin Bifur with because he wanted a chance to return an ax to the orc that had gotten away.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Over 500 miles, several battles, and 75 years.

Currently Bombur sat at the table it was a few years now after the company had retaken the mountain from Smaug and Battled the five armies making treaties and peace with the wood Elves and Men. It was prosperous time under King Dáin.. In that time even though a part of him longed to get back to work at the forges and another part deep inside him wanted to be fit again. The depression that lead to his hunger possessed him, would constantly nag at him to continue his sedentary life he was just the joke. Any time he would think about going down to the now lit forge it would lull him to eat another cookie then two then five. Then a cake and some mead . For a long time he submitted to these thoughts and words that brought him down that echoed in his mind, Why not?, he was just a very round gag, his butt being the subject of jokes. Besides comic relief seemed to be a good enough pastime if he could just stuff his face and get laughed at.

That was true until tonight, this started a few months back, after Bilbo had come back to visit them on his way to Rivendell just after his hundred and eleventh birthday. His Friends had forced him into a diet after a light jab made by Mr Baggings noticing of his expanded girth. Although the family then ended the pushing of the diet and just left him to his own devices. At the time those devices were to defiantly get as fat as he could in retaliation. Which at first seems like a fine idea. He stuffed himself silly day after day. No one spoke of it, and he was enjoying himself. Although he had gone from being the funny fat man to the pitied one. This gorging went on for weeks until one morning when he realized that endless stuffings were having more of an effect then he had considered. Trying to get out of bed the morning after an huge dinner, he realized what was normally a simple roll out of bed and slide upright wasn't happening. It had been getting more difficult for the past few days but this day.. THIS day he was stuck. It took Bombur another full 30 minutes of rolling on his back like a turtle trying to right itself before he able to build up enough momentum from his stomach sloshing back and forth to finally force himself over the side of the bed. Then he had the new problem of getting to his feet. He wasn't so fat that his stomach reached the ground while standing, and he could , or at least as of last night he could still walk. But he wasn't on his feet and his belly was hard to maneuver around in this position. Eventually after much rocking huffing, puffing, and rolling he got into a position where could stand. Exhausted he started to reconsider his eating habits. He got dressed , which was another struggle he was finding, then waddled slowly down to breakfast. He had thought on the way down that he would just have some toast and tea, maybe slow down a bit today. That thought lasted until he made it to the table , when that little nagging voice in his head , came alive and _cooed_ at the food laid out to feed the twenty or so Dwarves that were attendants and friends of King Dain. He could hear it listing everything on the table and prompting him to just have a little taste. A little won't hurt. At first he just grabbed toast and tea, but he found that after and hour and a half of. "just toast and tea.". He had eaten a small mountain, and was again the subject of silent stares, and disapproving looks. Looking down at himself he realized he was about to out grow yet another pair of trousers. With difficultly he got up from the table having to rock himself to his feet and lumbered over to a cushion in the corner. Here he sat and thought about his current issue, occasionally catching concerned and disapproving glares from the other Dwarves, most wouldn't say anything because they knew who he was, but it didn't prevent them from being quietly disgusted with his excess.

Bombur decided after this, and after reflecting on his friends month of silent stares , and the disappointment and disgust their eyes of eating at him, that he would do one thing he had never done to finally end the haunting grasp of his dangerous dance with food and depression. He decided to eat till he didn't want to see food again.

Bombur figured this would either break the cycle and cure him or he would explode trying. Either way he might have a chance to either redeem himself to his friends and family , or his death would alleviate them of his perceived "growing" burden.

So he sat their and waited until all the guests and servants had gone to bed, long after dinner he gathered up everything in the pantry and started to tuck it away. He had succeeded in stuffing his gullet so full at this point he was no longer sure he could walk. Having burst his belt an hour ago, he realized that he was slowing down, and near the point that the mass of food in front of him was nearly unappetizing. The little demon inside him was actually begging him to stop.

Bombur glanced at his swollen gut."Finally full, Eh?" This was actually a first he didn't ever remember actually being full ever. His bloated belly answered with a gurgle.. He took a large swig of milk forcing it down with a gulp, and looked at the jar of pickled herring just in his reach. He wanted to put the final nails into whatever feelings might want him to glut himself again.

. . He tipped up the jar.. and swallowed... A few seconds latter , he felt a little bile come up and could feel himself turning green. The very scent of food near him was making him nauseous.

Bombur felt sick.. But this was success, he actually had no want to eat more now,... or ever again.. and oddly,... he felt something leave him. A moment , just one brief instant he felt peace before the wave of nausea again washed over his bloated physique. "ohh", holding onto his gut, he groaned again, but he hadn't burst.. He wished he could of moved further from the mound of food. The sight and smell of the provisions just kept making him feel more ill. but instead he just lay constrained by his girth to his cushion , feeling qualmish and overfed, he eventually drifted to sleep until morning when his company found him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day. Bofur and Bifur, were first to arrive for breakfast although seeing Bombur they lost their appetites too. Bombur , from Bofur and Bifur's perspective, was extremely red and bloated, his belt had burst, and his normally huge gut was now even more swollen and pushing hard against his trousers and shirt which had stretched in some places past their breaking point , and were ripped reveling pasty white patches of flesh oozing out the seems... . Bofur yelled at Bombur in disgust.! "Wake up you fat pig! What did you think you were going to do!? Just ingest the larder by yourself?" Bofur picking up a dish, and sneering at the half eaten contents. "You could of at lest finished if you wanted to be glut that badly! "

At this Bombur stirred, and again getting a whiff of the food that surrounded him, covered his mouth to quell a retch that was coming. He looked down at himself, heavy. ..bloated. .., his face turned a little more green. He made an initial attempt to get up, struggled but realized the gravity of his stimulation he had tipped the scales from being able to lift himself to being too heavy to manage without help.

Bofur, was partially amused by this, "Really? Our own fat Bombur had enough? My fat little brother who for the last month has been going out of his way to over stuff himself just because he can, is Full? Didn't you tell us all you were going to do what you wanted ? That you didn't care,? That you'd be fine? For the past month we have been quietly watching you gorge like a madman with no restraint. Not knowing what to do about you, having failed you the last time we tried to help you. But now.. you've gone too far.. way to far this time Bombur. Here let me help you finish your breakfast.." Bofur angrily grabbed a plate and walked over to Bomburs shoving it in his face, and again Bombur tried to stifle a wrench, gagging at the scent and sight of more food.

"No, no! NO more! I can tell you this , I'm quite cured now, and hopefully forever , of wanting to eat..." The word 'eat' made him let out a groan of distaste, as it tripped like more bile off his tongue. ". .. or even , so much as look at a feast, banquet... " at this point he let out a belch, " …..meal, snack or morsel ever again. In fact if you two would be so kind as to get me a glass of water, and help me up to my bed I think I really need to put as much distance between me and this pantry as possible for a long time..."

Slightly concerned that their relation, but also hopeful that he had finally learned a very valuable lesson the two left the mess to clean later, and helped Bombur get a drink , which he used to get any taste out of his mouth and spit it on the floor apologizing but he just, couldn't stand it anymore. Feeling sick just being there.

Then they had the task of figuring out the best way to get him up to his chambers. Bombur had gorged so thoroughly his belly pinning him between the bench and the table. He has gained nearly 20 lbs in the last 8 hours , his stomach which was already being pushed to it's limits from the prior days eating, had erupted over and through his pants, rounded out and now spared his legs and pinned him to the floor with it's sheer mass. Bifur and Bofur after some debating ending up both taking an elbow and managed after much struggling and grunting on everyone's parts to lift their fat friend a few inches away from the table. Bombur getting shifted groaned but he tried to push away from the floor with his legs to help a bit just so he could put some distance between him and the smell of food. Next task was getting him on his feet, the two cousins weren't going to be able to carry him with out a few more dwarves so they wanted to try to get Bombur up on his own. They started rocking him, to try to get him up. This caused Bombur's massive gut to sway and made him nauseous. They realized that the only way to get him up would be to roll him onto his stomach then back on his feet, the shift in weight putting Bombur onto his already over stuffed belly was painful, and for a moment he couldn't breath. Eventually they got him rocked back to his feet. Upright was a challenge , he was still mobile but that extra 20 lbs put him up to 340, and it was nearly too much for him to handle at that point as far as just walking on a flat surface. His room on the second floor was going to be a challenge. With help Bombur could slowly move forward , and with considerable assistance Bombur managed to get up the stairs, stopping every 4th step so he could catch his breath. Stopping so often annoyed Bofur who was getting tired of supporting the extra large dwarf. Bombur was too full to care. With his hands holding onto and trying to steady and soothe his painfully bloated gut it was all he could manage to maneuver to just a few feet at a time, and to ask him to do it against gravity ?!. Bombur let out another groan, and sloshed forward. Finally up in his room his relations helped him change into the largest night gown they could find, which was actually a large table cloth that they had poked a few holes in for his head and arms. . and rolled him unceremoniously into bed.

Bofur and Bifur came back downstairs to the pantry to start the clean up after Bomburs binge. Although by then Dáin and the remaining company plus Gimli and Thorin the 3rd had already gathered to start breakfast, perplexed at the mess that was already laid out before them.. Bofur and Bifur filled them in on the state they found Bombur in that morning. The rest of the dwarfs responded with a range of emotions from finding it amusing that there fattest companion finally got what was coming, to Anger that they had let him get that way, to Disgust at the mess that was left behind and finally pity that he was in the state he was in. Although having been dealing with Bombur and his belly for the better part of the morning, His brother felt he had learned what ever lesson he could from this. Bofur having known Bombur the longest said that even though he has been in similar states before having overdone it on several occasions that this time felt different.

Bombur laid in bed trying to get comfortable while still feeling very full. Hands massaging what parts of his gut they could reach trying to relive some of the tension. He stared at the ceiling and after a while he simply took note of the silence.

Usually even when he had overdone it a bit there was always a little voice in his head , it was always there telling him how good it felt, or that it was fine he shouldn't care ... it wasn't there... it was just him alone in the room with his thoughts. His real thoughts.

For the first time in years he felt like he could make his own choices. He resolved to move forward positively from here. He decided the one thing he wanted to do was redeem himself with the other dwarves. He had been a greedy lazy jerk for so long that he felt especially guiltily of that. Waves of memories swept thought his minds eye. Each stupid thing making him feel a little worse while at the same time strengthening his resolve to fix the relationships he had soured the best he could. One way to do that was to make himself useful again, in his head he was already making plans for getting back to the forge, drifted off to sleep with a purpose , and feeling generally better about himself then he had in years.

The next morning he woke up, and had to deal with the consequences of his binge, while he was less globular the feast went to his hips, arms and gut and he could tell getting up today wasn't going to be easy. He tried rolling a few times but the new distribution of lard prevented much movement.

"How the hell am I going to lose this mass if I can't even get out of bed.?!" Shouted Bombur now out-rightly furious at himself for letting himself go this far , and then he got even hotter remembering he though at the time it would be a great idea.

He Spent the next two hours flailing around his arms and legs trying to get out of bed till he reached exhaustion. About then their was a knock on the door and he permitted whoever to enter to tired to care who saw him like this. Bofur stood there with a tea tray. He sized up the situation. Red sweating brother still in bed, breathing heavy like he had just run a mile... "So,." said Bofur with a smile. "You missed breakfast, I thought I'd bring you some tea and biscuits since I didn't think you were feeling well." Bofur wanted to be delicate with Bombur for now, being the good brother that he is.

Bombur, lay their, red now with embarrassment more then anger or the strain from exerting himself.

" I , uh.." his voice dropped to a whisper, "I couldn't get out of bed"

"What was that? " asked Bofur.

"I said I couldn't get out of bed, I'm a stupid fat idiot, and I can't get out of bed, I've been trying for the last two hours and I'm stuck... To be honest Brother." Bomburs voice cracked here, "To be honest, I'm glad you came, I need to talk with you."

Bofur felt something was defiantly different this time, and that his hunch was correct. Something big was about to change.

" I , ah, I want you to help me... uh.." Bombur trailed off.. " No, first. . I'm sorry, I'm sorry,.

"Bombur stop.." interrupted Bofur..

" No" Bombur injected holding a thick finger up to hush his brother.. "I have to say this, I'm sorry I've been such a bad brother to you. You always looked out for me more then I did you. I have been a growing burden on everyone for years and I was too selfish to realize that. And " Bombur took a ragged breath, "I promise I won't be a burden any more." Bombur wallowed for a minute.

Bofur stood there is stunned silence holding the tea trey...

" Why,Brother do you think a burden on me?" Bofur asked walking over to the night stand and placing the trey down..." It's my duty to take care of you, don't count yourself as having been useless, I know damn well you are …..or you were good in a fight and came thru when we needed you. Maybe a bit clumsy... .but... " he trailed off realizing Bombur was mostly accurate in his self assessment, he had been rather useless after he quit working the forges, and most of his "help" was delivered awkwardly. aside from being the cook, which he often wondered if he only really did to allow unbridled access to the stores,.. and one pretty impressive battle while wearing a barrel.. Bofur supposed Bombur did cause a bit of a burden both from the trip thru Mirkwood, and his laziness during the battle of the five armies when they were supposed to be protecting Thorin,. Bofur knew that was probably a sore spot, what with what happened to Thorin and the line of Durin... Bofur let out a sigh, "OK, But your not dieing, you can't just give up."

Bombur, Cut in " What are you talking about? I'm not giving up and dying. I just said I promise I won't be a burden any more and that's why I need your assistance for a little bit..."

His brother looked at him, Swollen, massive and unable to get up on his own "What do you need?"

" First" said Bombur attempting to roll to see his brother face and finding he still couldn't maneuver that far, annoyed, he laid back down.. " I need you to help me out of this bed, I have some eh Business to take care of I can't manage laying here. Secondly can you bring me a few pitchers of water and some more tea made with a few herbs : Aniseed , Buchu , Sweet Broom ,Cardamom , Priest's crown and ginger. "

"OK, then how do want me to get you up?"

"I just need a little push and don't let me fall over I should be OK once I'm on my feet. " Bombur thought for a second, "You might want to also get me a bench, I don't think I should lay back down for a bit."

Bofur did as his brother asked, Bombur rocked himself again towards the edge of the bed while Bofur pulled his arm forward just enough to offset his brother balance and rock him off the bed he then supported him so he wouldn't roll onto his face and left him on his feet. Once he was sure his brother was up and he watched him take a few wobbly waddles on his own , Bofur left him to run some errands figuring his brother probably wanted some privacy. He would head back latter to bring his things and check on his Brother.

When Bofur came back he had the herbs and Tea and some water skins. Dwalin had followed up with a bench but Bofur asked him to leave it by the door he would get it after checking on his brother, and sent him off.. Bofur knocked and let himself in. He saw his brother standing in the room half dressed drinking the tea from earlier.

" Did you get the herbs?"

"Yes, funny thing though, the Apothecary. You remember Hildea? I didn't realize She migrated here all the way from the Blue Mountains where we grew up? She asked if I was starting a diet, I told her I wasn't and she immediately asked if I was sneaking them into your tea. You know she nearly snapped her neck doing a double take when I told her you had requested them. Apparently she had first been trying to get you to take these when you were 30."

" ah, good old Hildea" Bombur waddled over "Well, put everything on the table and we'll see if these are as good as she claims they are for settling digestive issues."

Bombur having some issue with the pouches with his thick fingers managed to get them open and started mixing the herbs in to the strainers, and preparing the hot plate for tea, stocking the coals on the small table top stove.

" you know, " said Bofur, she said you only have to use a little at a time," watching his brother mix a lot of the herbs," she said too much will cause you to have a major stomach upset."

" I know," was the only response he got back , dismissing his brother warning . " You should probably leave me for now , I should be fine in a day or two.

"I just need to bring your bench in then..." Bofur grabbed the bench while Bombur prepared his drought, and was setting it up in the corner while Bombur downed the herbal concoction. He then left the room, although he swore he heard a painful groan not long after he shut the door.

Bombur wasn't seen for a few days, but rest assured the herbs did exactly what madam apothecary said they would do.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next few days Nori, Dori and Gloin noticed a distinct lack of Bombur at their regular meal times. They asked Bofur id he was OK since he hadn't been down from his room in a while. When they went up latter that day he only requested water to be left inside the door, no visitors. On the third day , just as a concerned detachment made up of Bifur, Dwalin and Bofur was about to go get him. He poked his head in the larder to let them know he was going out for a walk. Before they could say anything he got a whiff of the food turned a little green and waddled away. Somewhat concerned but figuring at least he was up and about they left him to his own deices for the time being and went back to getting ready for the day.

Having left the other dwarves at breakfast, Bombur walked as far as he could still near 300lbs, and as heavy as he was it wasn't as far as he liked, but it was a great improvement. Three days of diuretic herbs had flushed out a bit of water weight and he was less bloated. He knew he would have to work himself up to the mile long flight of stairs down to the forges. So for the next two weeks he would get up in the morning to go down to meet up with everyone at breakfast, breakfast was a glass of milk, some weak herbal tea, a soft-boiled egg and a few minutes company before he had to leave the kitchens. He would grab a water skin, and for the next few hours he would waddle up and down the great halls, sometimes stopping to look at the old dwarfish craftsmanship. All over Erebor ornate shields,statues, armor and metal work that hung in the halls. This just made him long for days he did things with his hands he couldn't remember exactly why he had stopped. Most of the other dwarves didn't know him when he was a master craftier. Only his brother Bofur remembered the days of Bombur the Smith, before he was just poor clumsy Bombur the Fat. He walked the halls longing to get back into his talent. Every step that much closer to his goals.

One of Bomburs issues was keeping to his diet. He had been really good for that first few weeks but as time went on he started noticing his resolve waning, so far he had not broken his diet but he was afraid he might. Bacon and cakes on the table had been more tempting lately , and even though he said he wasn't Hungary that wasn't really the whole truth. It was actually more of a mantra to keep him from eating more then he thought he should then a statement of fact. He just was also terrified of falling back into old habits. He figure the best way to decide if he could cheat a little was to get a look at himself, something he dreaded on a good day, in fact he hadn't actually really looked in a full length mirror in ages. It had been a long while since he had really gotten a look at himself willingly. So the next day after his morning bath he mustered the courage to get a look in the long forgotten mirror in his room.

"How bad could it be really?" reasoned the portly dwarf, "I'm down a pants size from when I started this, I can walk further.…." He mulled around in his head anything that would make this next move easier.

A sheet now covered with dust, had been draped over the mirror almost since he moved into this room, just after the battle of the five armies. Bombur stood to the side of the mirror and yanked, now the sheet was on the floor , and the mirror stood bear with it's ornate engravings around the edges. There He stood eyes on the floor he couldn't see due to his bulk, " That view is not reassuring.." he thought, not wanting to look up. Knowing he wasn't going to be happy with the results of his years of Gluttony, that a few weeks dieting only marginally improved upon. Knowing that he needed to look to give him a reason to stay the course. He took a breath and glanced up quickly, before looking down again eyes fixated on his embarrassing, accursed ,bulbous gut. Adding insult to injury was the fact that the towels he was using were actually thick wool bed sheets, and he had one only barley wrapped around his mass. His cheeks glowed red. He had gotten a glance of the damage done even after he has shrunk a bit, He was big , he knew that, but seeing how huge drove that home.

" It's Small miracle I'm mobile at all " he spoke this to the empty room, the vision of his roundness would keep him embarrassed enough to stick to his diet for a while. The burned in image of his saggy man-boobs and near triple chins took care of any appetite he had that morning. Making it both easier to stick with his tea and biscuit before his next walk. It would a long while until he had the courage to look in the mirror again.

He dressed quietly, silently looking at the size of everything he wore , something he hadn't really ever considered. For the longest time he had always just dressed , not realizing that over the years his belts were more the length of horse reins and pants the dimensions of a two person tent. All this bounced around his head as he wandered the halls. On the plus side being lost in his thoughts he wandered nearly three times further then he had on previous outings and ended up home more exhausted then normal.

On subsequent outings Bofur joined him, he enjoyed the company and talking made the walks more enjoyable. His brother would distract him with talk of the mines, new veins of ore that they had found. What the other dwarves were doing now that they were settled into the mountain. He kept the conversations interesting and light. These were the walks Bombur enjoyed the best. One particular day they discussed the Dwarf migrations, realizing that a large number of old Friends had moved to Erebor from the Blue Mountains. Besides the Apothecary, Bofur informed his brother that some of the smiths and crafter had joined the forge teams on the west forge. Bombur found that interesting although he didn't say anything, he just furrowed his brow and entered deep thoughts. That that gave him reason to make sure he started in the East forges, he wasn't sure he wanted to run into anyone who knew him from those days,.. like this.

By the end of the third week of daily hikes Bombur found he actually had to tighten his belt two full notches to keep his pants up. The progress made him happy. He was having an easier time of navigating the long passages and not nearly waddling as much as he once did. He decided to start doing the walk down toward the forges and back up till he could reach the bottom floors and make it back to his bedroom on the upper levels. Bofur didn't join him on these hikes stating that he did enough up and down going through the mines that he really

So another week went by, and after another notch off his belt He had finally made it all the way down to the bottom forges. The day before he was able to see the great forges under the mountain he had heard tales of when growing up in the Thorin's Halls. Although he had barely made it back up to the top levels because the heat down at the lowest level sapped him so. He had forgotten how hot the fires got and these were fired hotter then the Blue mountain dwarves forges from his youth.. He decided that he would move down to the lower levels. So Bombur packed a bag, and set up a room in the lowest workers quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The heat down by the furnaces was immense coming off the forges and the first two days he was unable to leave his bed. He just lay dripping with sweat , it was all he could do to stay hydrated drinking glass after glass of warm water and mint tea. Finally on day three he sucked it up. Tightening his belt the second time in three days he summoned the courage to ask the master craftsman to put him to work.

Sizing him up, Feldan , gave him a simple easy task of refining some gold bracelets with a small ping hammer. At first Bombur was slighted, but realized that his time away from smith work had robbed him of some of the skill he had mastered in the past and the tedious work with his still quite sausage like fingers was proving to be more exhausting then he had anticipated.

In the first day the tiny 1 lb hammer felt like a 20 lb sledge in the heat of the fires. His arms, not used to the repetitious task, were actually sore. But Bombur , slightly embarrassed by his current state, wanted to prove he could be just as good as he was in his youth kept at it. After a week of these delicate tasks he had managed to regain some of his stamina for fine detail work and was able to turn out about 40 delicately crafted bracelets and bangles.

The work did him good in other ways since the tasks had loosened his muscles in his hands and arms and the heat from the forge again had the effect of melting his waistline. The next two weeks went by similarly, but each week Feldan gave him harder tasks. Part of it was he Forge master wanted to Challenge him, he was also curious to what he would do. The rest of it was he enjoyed seeing Bomburs weekly improvements and that he was gradually regaining his confidence. He never told him he had remembered him when he was forge master in Thorin's Halls, Feldan has been quit young then and was only an apprentice at the time. But he had always admired Bomburs work. So getting a chance to see that spark rekindled as a treat for him now.

Week two Bombur was tasked with crafting bracers and shoulder armor plates out of heavier iron , with much heavier tools. He took up the challenge and like the first week it was hard going the first few days , he was sore but was determined to stick to the regime he had set up. Wake, wash, dress eat, work. If he ignored how sore he was and concentrated on pounding the hot iron the day was bearable although long. And after the first few hour on the third day he was able to ignore his aching arms and started to focus more on his technique. By the 4th day he was starting to make more elaborate pieces having gotten his rhythm back he began controlling better where his strikes hit and started adding patterning back into his metal. And by the end of the week the armor Bombur was crafting was of some of the highest quality he had in years. The hammers felt lighter and the details he began adding were amazing. The last set having etched into them ordinate stamps of knot work and twisted bears.

Week three in the forges graduated him to breastplates and Swords. These were more detailed items that he honed his crafting skills on in the heat and flames. He pounded steal for hours folding it and sharpening it, he crafted Forty blades by the end of the week each one more impressive then the last , and still managed to pound out and craft together 10 full armor breastplates. At the end of the week, his shoulders and biceps stung, but he felt accomplished Felden seemed pleased especially that his work orders were filled and let him know he had another task for him to start on the week after. Felden feeling it would help Bombur reconnect with the forge quicker and assist in getting him to his … reducing goals... at a faster pace. But first dinner and rest. He had been sticking to his diet and schedule, but that left little time for much else but work, a quick wash and sleep.

He had two days off coming and he felt now which was at end of week three he should trek up to the main floor to get a good sleep in his bed, see his friends and catch up on the goings on in the under-mountain kingdom.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Having returned to the main floor he washed up and grabbed some fresh cloths from his wardrobe. Nothing he had really fit properly at this time. His pants were starting to sag more then was safe for walking in having made the trek up the stairs that morning a little more precarious. This also cued him in at it was again time for new cloths. He dud thru his wardrobe and was unable to find anything that would really fit him, still going out of his way to avoid looking at the mirror. Often diverting his eyes the floor while trying on older clothing , although he didn't notice that the floor wasn't near as obscured by his gut as it had been the last time.

The other dwarves by now had also taken notice of of a somewhat smaller Bombur. He had slimmed down about 7 inches and lost 40 lbs. The weight gone from the more then 300lbs that he started with and he was now about 260 lbs. He was almost the size he was when they had first retaken the mountain. But Bombur even though he was averaging a notch off his belt a week was still completely uncomfortable in his appearance to the point that he beat himself up more then was necessary and found it hard to take any praise delivered from friends, because he still felt he might let down if he let up his guard and didn't finish his diet. Having made it to the top floor he feared old habits might reassert themselves when he had been behaving for this long. He still choose to eat a light breakfast trying very hard to keep up with the same regime he had been following for weeks although this seemed to concern Bofur. After breakfast Bofur pulled his brother aside noticing he still wasn't eating much, having barley picked at the biscuit and egg on his plate. Instead Bombur choose to sit and talk while at the table. Bofur saw that even though he had been making improvements. He needed to express his worry that his brother might be taking things a little too far too fast.

Bombur shrugged his brother concerns off Telling him not to worry about him, claiming he ate before he came up. Truthfully, he had not , part of his reasoning was he was weary of the little biscuit and egg. Bombur dazed out a moment a blank stare on his face as in his mind he saw the contents of the table spring to life dragging him down a long hall back to the pantry , inviting all their friends to jump in his mouth and be eaten, and this made him loose his appetite. Shaking himself from yet another fantasy, He promised his brother he would take better care of himself.

After breakfast the brothers went for a long walk around the halls and down to the tailor to pick up Bombur some new outfits. Bombur changed into something better fitting , noticing these were a little snug, bit at least he wasn't tripping over his pant cuffs. The Tailor insisted he look at them in the mirror, a task he dreaded, but he looked, he was smaller but the tight cut cloths weren't very flattering. All he could focus on was his stomach the fabric stretched tighter their then it should be. Bofur said he looked fine and reminded him would probably shrink out of them in a week or so anyway and they would be less snug. Bombur knew this was probably true but he still wasn't used to such tight garments, it reminded him of when he was trending in other directions. Although he did like the new boots , and the belt his Brother had gotten him.

After then finished at the tailor they walked over to the market that was set up in one of the great halls. Here they met up with Bifur, who although appeared war hardened and scarey , had chosen to go back to crafting intricate toys for the children of the mountain kingdom and had set up a small toy and mechanical repair shop in the tinkers area of the Bazaar. Bombur shouted to his cousin in Kazdul from across the way, and Bifur ran over and gave then both a manly hug before challenging Bombur to an arm wresting match . He had taken note his cousin was looking fitter then usual and although Bifur still won, he did get a little more of a challenge from his cousin then he was anticipating. Afterwards Bifur gave him a hardy slap on the back and had a good laugh. * Just like old times eh? Except back then when we were kids you were runk** this was better more, like when you were 50. *

Bombur winced because the slap sent a ripple though the fat he as still trying to ignore. * That was great!* Bifur laughed again *It was good seeing you, We've missed you this past month. Both of you actually, Bofur how long were you down in that hole?*

Bofur made a hand motion signaling not to talk about that, and by simply stating. " I eh, I'll save that story for another time."

Bombur looked at his brother with some concern but didn't press since he looked fine right then. Bofur filled Bombur in on most other goings on about the kingdom. But never elaborated on why he was in a hole for a while. Then they headed back out to pack for the next morning when Bombur would head back down to the forges. He helped Bombur pack his bags and supplies for his dorm before seeing him off again. Bofur made sure he sent him back to the forges with salted jerky and a skin of spring water and a new bag of clothing.

* Translated from Khuzdul

**Runk -one-sided fight, a sound trashing


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

By week four, his duties were moved up to moving the bellows. By far one of the most intense jobs to be done in the forge. It was good his brother had packed some extra provisions. The bellows in the mountain kingdom, weren't your little hand press bladders to keep a small fire hot. These bellows that the dwarves used for their furnaces were two stories tall and took four to six strong dwarves everything they had to compress, to stoke the fires and you had to be on your toes to do this exercise for hours on end.

Bombur took to this quickly the first day using his bulk to compress the bags but finding pushing them up to be a little more difficult. He was on a team of five other dwarves for a bellow that Feldan said normally only took those five to operate although they appreciated him as ballast.

Embarrassed, by being called a dead weight, Bombur tried harder, and pushed and pulled for five long hours till he ached immensely and thought every muscle in his body would rip apart. Dripping in sweat worse then he had since the first day, Bombur was relived when Feldan told him to take a break.

As he limped over to the rest area every muscle still twitching, and knotting from over doing it. He saw his brother with water, jerky and a small honey cake had come to see him.

Bombur addressed Bofur "I didn't expect you down here so soon."

"I had a feeling, " said Bofur, " That you weren't really going to keep your promise to take care of yourself, now eat please we need to talk."

It was true Bombur had stuck with a meager breakfast of a single egg and some toast. That choice was proving to be a mistake after five long exhausting hours on the bellows and he certainly couldn't deny that he was very hungry to the point of painfully so, on top of his sore muscles. He took the offerings and under the sentry eye of his brother ate and drank all that was offered. Although due to the mornings exercise it hurt to do anything ,eating included ,and he really just wanted to lay down.

Bofur reminded him that the last time he was working in the forge he would eat well after a long hard day and still had quite a physique from the hard labor. Bombur reluctantly agreed, but still dreaded falling back into over eating. Bofur reminded him that eventually there will come a time when he will have to find a happy medium, or the work will kill him.

"What is your goal ?", Asked Bofur.

Bombur considered this for a moment.."For the longest time I had been a slave my appetite , and that urge has finally left me. I became a cook after I no longer had the will to craft because it satisfied my need to create and gave me an ability to never be far from comfort foods. I always had this nagging little voice in my head, greedy really , egging me on to stuff my face. So now that I am not being held back by a belly begging to be fed every waking moment or by a body too clumsy to work successfully as a crafter..." Bombur paused here slightly emboldened "...For many years after we settled and there was hope again, I have wanted to regain my standing as a master craftsman to design and create. like I used too. So I am trying to recapture the glory of my youth!" Bombur's face was a little red here, and it wasn't from the heat. He a little embarrassed after saying it out loud.

Bofur asked again, " Yes, but your already doing that , I know there is something else. When will you be satisfied? What is your actual goal ?, When will you stop ? "

Bombur still red, took a deep breath, he hadn't thought that far ahead. He wanted to be strong and fit again, but he understood what his brother was getting at. He had just traded demons if he was going to end up starving himself to death. "I want to be able to do every thing I could at my peek as master smith." quieter, " I also was hoping to regain the respect of the rest of the Dwarves in Dains court, I think I have embarrassed myself fully a few weeks back, and I need to make up for that, among other failures over that last 100 years."

Bofur looked solemn and considered this " I understand better why you act so apprehensive around everything that reminds you of your past. I know your still embarrassed . But because of that you take no joy in your journey, or current achievements. Somethings you need to let go to go forward too. Look have you even considered your progress?" Bofur paused a second letting that sink in to his brother stubborn skull. " What do you weigh now? I know you checked."

Bombur thinking he had snuck a peak on the scales they used to weigh gold in private, answered

but turned his face away from his brother when he told him the numbers. " I'm 260 lbs, still too heavy for my liking." Bombur was embarrassed talking about is size. " I want to get down to 190 which was what I was at at my peek in the forges"

"Do you promise, started Bofur to a very red faced Bombur, "That when you reach your goal that you will ease off this dieting and eat a manageable amount? Personally I think you need to eat more now. The quality work you are doing should be rewarding enough. But the bellows will prove your undoing"... . Bofur trailed off looking worried before starting again ….. "Bombur when I got here you looked like death coming off the line! We all support you in this effort. Dáin is very impressed and glad to have his best craftsman working to regain his position. The others who didn't know you when you were a master crafter in the Blue Mountains are immensely impressed. But as your brother I know you and I worry. I dare say your hobbit friend would barely recognize you now, let alone when ever you reach the end of this journey. "

Bombur responded indebted to his brother kind but blunt words " I promise I will take care of myself, and knowing that the rest of you support me is a huge balm. Although speaking of little Bilbo, first off I'm currently the same size I was when we met him at Bag End all thous years ago although not quiet as um,... svelte as I was at the end of the hike. ." Bofur smirked , and gave a more knowing glare towards Bombur, they had all lost a few inches on that hike, The fourteen of them had been thru hell and back, and that's what happens when you've been starved, beaten , imprisoned, and chased down by wargs, it was very physically intense. Although Bomburs loss was the least noticeable, and it certainly wasn't as noticeable to the members of the party who were taking turns carrying him thru Mirkwood while he slept.. He then let his brother continue..."..Any way I doubt at this point he would have any trouble picking me out of a line up.. When I have reached my goals, and by then I hope he can't, I want to craft a few fine items and I want you to travel with me to Rivendell to see him. It was Bilbo on his last visit that initiated this. ..." he said gesturing to himself.

A little taken back, Bofur asked. " What do you mean it was Bilbo who pressed you to do this?"

Bombur, confided for the first time in another dwarf what had happened during the forced diet a few months prior when Mr Baggins was visiting. " The last night of my forced diet, Bilbo , pointed out that it was me, not the rest of you, that had to make a choice. At that time I decided I would just order more clothing in larger sizes and would rather stay fat. But that little ear wig the hobbit said,. Telling me it was my choice, ate away at me for a while. I realized that if I ever wanted to change and stop being self depreciating, and get back to the forges , I had to do it myself. That was when I decided to try to beat an internal demon I had been fighting with my whole life. I knew that the only thing I had never really tried was giving it exactly what it wanted.. so.."

Bofur cut him off. "You decided to eat until you either exploded or beat it.. and you beat it."

"Well,... yeah.." hearing it out-loud turned Bombur's ears red again, and he felt silly...

"Well," said Bofur "fine by me, whatever worked to get this going, and I would be happy to accompany you to Rivendell whenever you are ready." At this he smiled ear to ear and took his leave up the long flights of stairs to the upper halls, hoping his brother had at least taken food for thought and he knew he would be checking on on him again to make sure he wasn't over doing it.

Bombur took he rest of the day off, he was sore and just wanted to sleep. But he slept well thinking of the talk he had with his brother and mentally preparing for the tasks ahead of him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day was very different then the one before. He thought hard about what Bofur had said about a happy medium, he actually ate a decent breakfast, some toast , an egg, milk, and some meat. Food still made him wary he was still afraid he would risk falling into old habits, but he needed it for fuel. He figured he didn't need to eat a lot but with the work at the bellows so intense Bofur was right the bird like diet he had been managing on wasn't going to do him any favors if he ended up dead. He was still sore but his determination pushed him on.

He was able to manage four and a half hours with only four other dwarves Before Feldan moved him to other duties. Bombur realized he wasn't as sore as he was yesterday and grabbed a light lunch before pounding some swords for the next six hours. This went on like that for the next 4 weeks. Every day Bombur felt stronger and needed less help. Slowly he got a little braver in his progress. Gradually he accepted that he was reaching his goals. Still he was reluctant to really look in mirrors because any spot on his body that wasn't firming up felt amplified a thousand times and made him worried that he was still a failure. This emotional baggage was something he needed to face to overcome. So one morning before he got out of bed he decided to take an inventory. He usually avoided mirrors and really examining himself, even the quick baths down in the forges were done as mechanically as possible because he tried not to think of his rolls or soft spots when washing up. Talking himself into a full examination was actually hard. He had slept in only his underwear that night, because he had had a very exhausting day the day before .Bombur had done a double shift at the bellows to cover for a sick dwarf . Normally he moved off to other activities in the second part of the day. Because of this he washed up quickly and hastily dressed for bed not bothering to don his night robe.

As he lay there that morning, he reminded himself that he should take account of his progress, what was the point of slimming down if he couldn't enjoy it? He supposed he was afraid if he saw his progress he would not work as hard or it would cause him to make excuses to stop dieting. He didn't fully trust his own will power and with reason it had failed him before. So laying under the covers he apprehensively moved his hand to his hips and pressed it against the skin their. The first thing he noticed was the boney knob of his hip bone that could be felt under a only modest layer of muscle and fat. But not to excess. A little braver and more curious moved his hand upwards and over to his lower middle, this was still soft but he had no issue feeling a layer of muscle beneath it, he moved his hand straight up towards his bellybutton, and let it sit there. Here he could feel the results of working the bellows. By now , the end of the first two weeks, he was able to run the bellows for six hours with only two other helpers. Strong abs laid under a very modest layer of soft tissue. He felt that they were probably becoming defined on their own and as he lay their he flexed into a half sit up to see how strong they were and was surprised to feel his whole midsection tighten. He had gotten used to his lazy body so the sensation of multiple muscle groups reacting together was a pleasant surprise. He had spent so much time trying to ignore how he felt because he feared he would feel bad , he didn't pay much attention to the fact that he was actually feeling pretty good. He liked this new toned tightness that was developing .

He lay back down and continued feeling up and over. " ah, , that stubborn spot" he thought cringing a little when he hit it. To his sides he still had quit noticeable jiggly rolls that stretched up and to his mid-back from just under his last rib to his lower should blades. This was that defiant patch of fat that he would feel jiggle every time he struck a hammer or was patted on his back. That one soft spot that was persistent, that he hated. That section made him feel horribly self-conscious. But when he hissed breath thru his teeth his Diaphragm tightened and drew attention to his greatly shrunk belly reminding him he was not that bad off and he kept going.

He slid his had up further, to his rib cage, he was surprised that he could feel his ribs now, not protruding by any means , they were just palatable under his skin. But he didn't have to dig too deep for them. He could feel the end of his rib cage and laying down, his whole mid section was nearly flat. He wasn't round anymore he was .

A little higher he hit a wall, he realized this was where the work was doing the most good. Solid newly muscled pecs met him at his chest. These lead into more defined shoulders and arms. He held a hand out above himself, and examined his arms, stronger with calloused hands from swinging hammers and pumping the bellows.

The last bit he decided he could finish in the small shaving mirror . Bombur hadn't gotten a look at his face in over a month. Not since he had briefly glanced in the full length mirror in his bedroom. He hadn't shaved since then either trying to avoid looking at himself. Wanting to gauge how fit he was he decided to spring out of bed. . Normally he rolled out of bed, a habit he had developed over years of rolling out of necessity. But he found that he could in one swift motion situp and be at his feet at the foot of his bed. This made him a little giddy although He still felt a tad embarrassed by the jiggly reminder the light thud of his feet hitting squarely on the floor created in his middle back, sides and butt. But the rest of him was firming up.

He shook it off and walked to the wash room where the mirror was. Wanting to get a better look at himself. He looked, he looked hard for a while. He recognized his eyes but the rest of his face was new. Beyond the extra bushy mane that he had manged to sprout , he looked much more hollow. Actually thinner features brought out more of a family resemblance to his brother except with a fiery red beard and a little less hair on top. One area that Bombur had wished wasn't thin. He decided to trim and shave. He normally wore his beard in two large braids since so much had grown out he had taken to doing three. But the one in the middle obscuring his neck could go.. so he started cleaning up. The first thing he noticed was his lack of extra chins. Where a ring of fat used to encircle his neck their was none. As he finished shaving he got as best a look he could at his new profile. He was shocked at his overall progress. He figured he was close. " 30 lbs to go.? No." he thought , rubbing his much flatter stomach, . "20 more lbs and I should be at my goal." After this Bombur got dressed he was down a full 4 more notches in the belt Bofur had given him a few weeks ago. Which by this point Bombur was just holes cutting about an inch apart into the leather himself , so using them as a measure wasn't even reliable. He had a modest breakfast of Eggs , dried meat , a heel of bread with a herbal mint tea and headed to work in a very good mood.

But by the end of the month he was running the five dwarf bellows by himself and could do a full 7 hour stretch. Bombur was happy since it was just like old times. Bofur had kept his promise and checked in on him him several weekly usually bringing honey cakes or new clothing that would fit better since Bombur was rapidly shrinking out of his previous sets the outfit from a month ago that was nearly too tight at the tailor was already too big in the waist and nearly too tight around his shoulders and arms in less then two weeks. Such was the ferocity of Bomburs workouts in the forges. Bombur had been the last two weeks focusing on that last stubborn patch of fat. It had truly been a monkey on his back, so after a long day no matter how hard he had pushed himself he stretched and work that area. This final tuning had quite the overall effect on his physique being pushed so hard he was the Charles atlas of Dwarves now, he had gotten a little braver and was without thinking climbing ropes and chins between the upper and lower levels at the forges, being the 4 foot 5inches was on the shorter side of some of the workers. A greatly reduced Bombur could now fit into some of the tighter spaces when they needed someone to fetch tools or metals that dropped in holes, or someone agile enough to get into hard spots. Bombur didn't think about what he was doing while he was at work. Just how to get it done. That's why working was so good for him. He was useful, he had earned back a lot of respect, and he liked the praise of a job well done.

That weekend. Bofur decided to surprised Bombur by forcing a weigh in. The elder brother saw how much better in spirits Bombur was. His waist that had three months ago been over 50 inches, had receded a full 22 inches. His nearly four and half foot tall frame was now powerfully solid and sinewy. He seemed to be finally starting to feel comfortable in his skin.

Bombur hadn't needed to tighten his belt this week and that worried him a little although he was getting better about accepting himself he still wasn't quite over his apprehension that kept him from looking at himself in any mirror . Even though he knew he was even smaller then he was two weeks ago he lacked the resolve to really take in how much of a change there was. Bombur still nervous at being weighed reluctantly got on the scales. Not sure if was apprehensive of seeing the numbers he wanted or afraid he wouldn't.

But Bofur sat him facing away from the numbers. After a few adjustments, Bofur grunted a few times...

Bombur with a bit of anticipation, and getting impatient expecting the worst, asked "WELL!"

"Well," Scoffed Bofur.. "Well"...

Bombur highly impatient and not liking hat his brother was stalling feared the worst, "get on with it..!"

"well" sighed Bofur, " it looks like I'll be packing my bags for Rivendell..."

Bombur, sheepishly asked "What does it say?"

"It says 190lbs , If you force any more off you'll be too weak to work the bellows."

Bombur was happy. At this point Bombur started planning the projects he wanted to make as a thank you for Bilbo, and so many things were running thru he head about the upcoming trip.

Bofur just wanted his brother to wash up and come up stairs for a homecoming party since the other dwarves hadn't seen him in over a month, and would be proud of his accomplishment. "Go wash up and I will meet you up stairs in a few hours."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Bombur in his excitement ran the nearly full mile up to his bedroom , he was surprised he was barely winded when he reached his bath. He drew a tub and once out of the forge dirtied water finally was ready to take a good long look at himself in a mirror he had been avoiding . He positioned himself in-front of ornate looking glass, doing everything he could to avoid actually looking into it yet. He starred at the floor.. This time actually seeing the floor, his view no longer blocked as it was last time by a massive paunch. Still even though he knew shouldn't be, Bombur was reluctant to peer into it. The last time he peered into it, he was still quite large and a small part of him was terrified that this was all just a dream and the reality of the last few months might shatter upon a glace in the looking glass. 'moment of truth', He thought. He closed his eyes counted to three and Bombur looked up from his toes.

A svelte reflection of a dwarf stood in front of him in the full length mirror in just a towel. He ran his hand in general disbelief over his toned body. It had still would not sink in this was his own reflection looking back at him. He knew he shouldn't be surprised, he HAD been doing rather amazing work at the forge. He knew he was fitter, of course there were changes, he wanted there to be changes, but actually seeing the results as others did, was a little mind blowing. He hadn't realized how much weight he has lost. He looked first at his face, for the first time in years he could see his cheekbones. He pressed his fingers to them while His eyes traveled down to his shoulders and arms. Bofur was right his arms were massive in a good way. As was the width of his chest bulked up from pumping the huge bellows for hours on end. Eyes still scanning downward, He had actually developed rock hard abs. he had known this but actually seeing them was still a lot to take in . The last two weeks had melted the rest of the padding from them and they were defined now. He poked is new belly, and this amused him greatly. "Well at least I don't look like a drum anymore." Bombur laughed to himself. Running his hand over his abdomen, "Maybe an xylophone would be more fitting and instrument." That stubborn patch, gone, and in it's place just a smooth line from shoulder to sides. Even his butt had tightened up from the climbing and jogging.

His next problem was finding something to wear that fit him. He was now half the size of any of the clothing in his closet and the cloths that fit him in the forge weren't something he would be wearing to the party. Just for fun he put on an old pair of his pants and was amazed that he was lost in them. Even with his arms stretching the fabric as far as he could reach he was barely able to keep it covering his under garments. Luckily Bofur, who was the only other dwarf who has seen him regularly had thought of this and sent up clothing that was laid out on his bed in several sizes. The smallest outfit, looking at it , it looked like one of Fili's old outfits. It was a tad tight in the chest and arms but fit him around the waist. He tried the next one up, it fit his shoulders better so he decided to wear that. He tried on several more pants till he found ones that nearly fit, but he put on a pair of suspenders just to be safe. He had discarded his old belt, it was so worn and damaged from having notches cut out in places they weren't meant to go it was too ratty to wear to a party. Bombur decided he would have to go take a visit to the tailor in the morning for a proper fitting. Once dressed he spend a few minutes looking at himself in the mirror still not quite believing this was him. He looked good, he was happy for the first time in a long time. But he wondered how the rest of the Dwarves would react. It had been weeks since he had visited and he changes the most in the last month. At that he took a deep breath, and anxiously He headed down to the great hall.

The rest of the Dwarfs had already gathered and were having their dinner laid out on a large banquet. When he walked in not one of them took notice because they didn't recognize him. This gave him a chance to just mingle quietly and listen in on conversations. It wasn't until he had been making small talk with Nori and Dori for a few minutes enjoying his anonymity that he asked where Bombur was, laughing on the inside.

Nori and Dori looked at each other, and shrugged.

"He should be here somewhere. Although none of us have seen him in over a month. So.." Dori cut himself short, he noticed the Muscular dwarf he had been talking too was stifling a laugh and he was wearing a familiarly braided red beard.. " My soul!" cried Dori.

Nori caught on a second latter. "Holy Mahal!" He shouted.

At this Bombur burst out laughing a large hearty laugh that he hadn't had in ages. The familiarity of it caught the attention of his company and the rest of the dwarves came over to see what what the brothers had been so shouting at. And their reactions ,with the exception of Bofur , were in similar shock. This of course caused Bombur and Bofur to share in another laugh.

The next half hour was reassurances from Bombur that "Yes, it was him" , "No, he hadn't paid another dwarf from the forge to wear his hair cut." " No, I'm not wearing a griddle!" At that last accusation , he slipped off his suspenders and grabbing the trousers that didn't quite fit right, lifted his shirt so they could see for themselves he was in fact really standing there. Gawking silenced, he redressed and decided to initiate some music. He procured a small hand held tap drum from the closest in the hall and started to play his brother joining in with his Clarinet.

The rest of the night was filled with dance and song, and celebration. Sometime very late Bombur headed up to his bed to sleep. He had trip plans he needed to make in the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day he began to prepare for his trip to Rivendell to see Bilbo. He told Dain of his plans to head out with his Brother at the end of the July, it's about five hundred Miles to Rivendell and they estimate making it twenty miles a day to be their by the end of August. Dain gave his blessing he didn't feel it would cause any issues with the kingdom going thru stable times.

Bombur headed back to his room shortly after. Near noon,he grabbed his notebook to start writing down a list of things he would need, just before heading down to meet his brother for lunch. He had several things he wanted to discuss about the preparation in the coming month, there were also several things Bofur wanted to discuss with him. As Bombur got to the dining hall Bofur was already there with lunch on the table, he sat quickly and in his excitement started going over his plans . He told his brother that he wanted to make an mithril inlaid walking staff for Bilbo, and a set of silver daggers as a gift for Elrond. But he wanted Bofur to take him down to the mines so he could select the ore himself he had a few ideas for the insets but wanted to mix raw and processed minerals so he needed to find just the right shapes of raw ore and gems .

.

At this request Bofur took a long slow drink of his mead, swallowed , with a frown, and heavily set the stein on the table. He told Bombur he would only take him if he was finishing his lunch. He had noticed him avoid most the diner last night and was still eating lean at breakfast. He wouldn't take him down into the mines if he wasn't well prepared for the day. He reminded Bombur that he had to eat a normal amount, that the whole reason he hadn't had to tighten his belt in two weeks was because their was nothing left to loose.. literally. He had reached his goal, and at this point starving himself could kill him in the mines or the forge.

"I am your brother, I have made it my duty to look after you when needed , and right now I think I need to keep an eye on you until you have figured yourself out. I want to tell you a story of the last Dwarf that didn't take care of himself in the mines."

At this Bombur let out an exasperated sigh, and waved for Bofur to continue..

"Back home in Ered Lindon when we were still young , I had just reached my 160th year. I knew a Dwarf named Deenile. Deenile, like you had been a larger Dwarf and he decided to ,. .. reduce... ….and like you he had trouble figuring out when it was time to stop. One day after yet again skipping breakfast Deenile got a call from his Foreman to head down to the deep caves for a large haul of Iron. The deep Cave were a treacherous place where the mine was stripped deep inside the mountain in a wide deep shaft that had been chipped away from the guts of the mountain for a very long time. The path to the lower levels was a scaffold spiraled down the sides the the shaft. The path was narrow, not much wider then the 3 foot carts used to push coal up from the bottom, a glance over the unguarded edge would make and dwarfs head spin as it trailed down to the depths where you could no longer see the bottom. Deenile ended up on the thin warn path in the forth mine, he slipped a first time , getting a glimpse of the edge down down to the depths. He had already pushed himself that morning, since the work site in that mine was further then any he was used too, he felt dizzy and weak and after another two flights down it was all he could take, and Deenile passed out right there on the tier, he made it to his work site faster then anticipated though, having plunged quickly two miles into the earth , and landed on a stalagmite. "

Bombur, somewhat horrified, Started agape at his brother for a moment , then stammered out that he would finish his lunch...

After this interlude he , shook it off, and awkwardly continued talking about his plans. Bombur went on, in detail, of how he as going to craft Bilbo's walking staff. He gushed about the design in his head right down to the braided mithril inserts, and all the way up to the carvings he was planning on the oak branch, something he wanted to source from the mountain side after he found his Ore.

Bofur listened with half an ear , taking in bits and pieces but more making sure Bombur finished his lunch which he had to point out a few times to hurrying him along. The hour was nearly up, and if they wanted to get this Ore today they would have to head down their shortly.

Finally done, Bofur sent his brother to his room for more appropriate boots and a shoulder bag to collect materials in. Bombur hurried to grab these items an meet his brother, who had his own small bag of gear and a lantern, at the west entrance near the Farmine. After this, they started there long decent into the mine, where the richest deposits of mithril were found. It was a long way down , at first they were met by dwarves picking away at veins of copper and gold in the walls of the mountain, these were younger dwarves in training.

Bombur remembered when Bofur had started his apprenticeship in the mines , he would sneak away at times and grab him from his position in the forges and they would head to abandoned parts of the mine in the Blue Mountains and get into trouble exploring. Or Bofur would sneak off to see Bifur and they would work on making tinker toys. Bombur smiled at this memory.

He must of chuckled to himself because Bofur stopped. "What are you thinking ?"

"oh" he started as they turned a cornering down a long shaft. " Just remembering your first summer in the mines back in Blue Mountains . ."

Bofur smiled, "yeah , although I think I learned more about toy making from our cousin that first year , then wielding a pick. But tinkering was more fun. Although those afternoon exploratory adventures helped out years latter when the shafts were expanded into those areas. " Bofur let his mind wander back for a bit as they continued down the dark passage. "Still... I wasn't half bad at reading the rock for locating the best spots to dig for iron ore."

The passage turned and opened into a larger cavern, more miners here picking silver and gems from the walls, track laid for mine carts crisscrossed the floor of the room. It smelled of sweat and wet and damp, but it was a familiar smell for the ground dwelling races. The odor of smoke from the oil lamps, greasy soot mixed with mud on the damp walls.

Bofur breathed it in an felt right at home, But it made Bombur remember other adventures in the mines. Bombur and Bofur stepped aside as a mine cart came their way , heading into the passages in the walls and away to deliver it's payload to the workers far below them in the forges .

Chuckling again to himself "Bofur, remember when we were still very small and would sneak down to ride the carts all the way to the forges to see dad?" he asked.

"I do,we had a few fun trips down the old shafts , Do you remember why we had to stop?" Bofur had a incredibly stupid smile on his face, remembering the incident.

"Oh" and now Bombur remembered. . he kept quiet, turning a little red behind the eras ,still a tad self conscience about it even now. "Yeah, I, uh, I remember."

Most Dwarf children are small enough to ride the carts thru the smaller tunnel passages for quite a while, and even some of the more diminutive adults will occasionally hop in an empty cart if they need to quickly get to the sorting room in forges. In the mines of the Blue Mountains , all the carts are funneled into a relatively tight tunnel before they reach the forge. On this particular day Bofur and Bombur had been riding the carts for a few years , and although Bofur was relatively standard sized child, Bombur wasn't and over the past few months he had been less and less of a standard size. Bofur had warned him of that earlier that day after a tighter then normal squeeze thru the tunnels they used to get to the mines, Bombur didn't want to admit it, and one thing led to another and they challenged each other to a cart race. This was a mistake. As they selected their carts Bofur hopped in with out much issue , although Bombur huffed a bit and eventually squeezed into his cart and they were off, they took a long tunnel down at greater and greater speeds until they were neck and neck to the splitting room tunnel. They did what they always did placed their heads down for clearance and tucked their hands in the cart, Bofur was in the lead and made it thru no problem, but just behind him he heard a pop like a cork being put in a bottle and silence. When Bofur got to the forge he stood waiting for Bombur to show up. But a few minutes went by and he never came. Finally a team was sent in, and they found him, wedged like a door stop between the cart and the tunnel, his girth too thick to fit in the narrow tunnel slipped too far over the edge of the cart and stopped him like a cork in the entrance. The rescue team had to send to the kitchens for pounds of butter to grease Bombur up to slide him out. After that the boys were forbidden by their parents to ride the carts again.

The Brothers traversed the cavern and started down another passage this one along a ravine, the hollow in the mountain reached up above them a few hundred feet and was pierced by shafts of light where the ceiling of the cave met the top of the mountain outside, and the path wound low much deeper then they could see and down there the inky blackness was where the most experienced Dawrven miners south the rich deposits of Lapus Luzi ,Diamond and mithril.

Bombur was now deep in thought again, absent mindlessly rubbing a hand over his belt, sulking a bit remembering the embarrassing story. This rather annoyed Bofur, who both hated when his brother sulked like this , especially over such silly things, and he needed him to be alert the path down this mine was dangerous and one misstep could cause either one of them to fall miles down to the jagged rocks below.

Bofur stopped, holding his hand up to forcibly catch Bombur who wasn't paying attention to where he as going. This surprised Bombur who stumbled to a halt. "Look, " Bofur took a deep sigh , " I know your going through some weird internal guilt trip. I don't know why, I have no idea why you still feel like you've done something wrong or need to atone for things that happened years ago. But right now I need you to focus. We are in one of the most dangerous mines, on a narrow scaffold that runs down into the pit. Can you at least focus on why we are here and stop ruminating over why you were a fat ass when you were 30? Seriously brother I need you to be attentive to your surroundings while we are here. Can you promise me that before we go any further? Also it wouldn't kill you to just enjoy the hike, this trek goes a lot quicker if you can at least attempt to enjoy it."

Bombur shook off the grey cloud that was hovering over him again, and promised to not dwell on gloomy thoughts from the past that he couldn't change.

They continued down the narrow path that wound its way down , shafts branched off into the mountain at intervals, and mine carts would occasionally be pushed to the mouth of the caves by the dwarves that worked this section of the mine. They needed to be aware of them so they didn't get hit by one and knocked into the pit. The carts from these shafts were dumped into vats that were picked up with a conveyer belt that stretched all the way to the bottom of the mine. That took the deep minerals and gems to the carts on the upper floor and then sent to sorting. Once they were back on the path Bofur began to hum an old folk tune to try to lighten their spirits but eventually decided to ask his brother about the items he was planning on crafting. They talked about these in detail occasionally dodging a mine cart from the shafts, until they reached the bottom levels about an hour latter.

Here Bofur stopped and took from his bag a plumb, a medium sized pick and a small shovel. "and now," Bofur said pointing down a dank ill-lit tunnel to the right, " We head down that shaft and start digging."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 ( rev. 1)

As they descended into the long shaft the light from Bofurs lantern would occasionally glint off of minerals in the rock. He was looking for a certain bluish color that would clue him into a vein of Mithril. Bombur would stop occasionally and examine the walls looking for gems or ore that might look nice inlay in his projects, but after brushing the rock would move on waiting for his brother expertise to find the best spots to dig.. after another half and hour trekking into the mines, Bofur stopped, he had seen what he was looking for, and pointed to the wall up and to the right. "Hand me that pick please. " He held his hand out taking the tool from Bombur after he dug it out of the pack. " Bofur was the naturally talented miner in the family having a special talent for finding rare ore. After a few hours they had about 15 lbs a mithril which was a good full bag of the light metal. While they were down there they talked a bit, mostly plans for there trip, but they also managed to find some nice gems that Bombur would take to have cut as inlays for the gifts he would be crafting. Near supper time the two brothers packed their bags and started the long hike out of the mines. The trip was was uneventful the two talked most of the way.

Bombur finally had to ask " Do you do this hike every day? "

" Almost" Bofur paused for a second, " Actually I only recently started doing this everyday again. Remember a few months ago when you first started working at the forges. Well I stopped for a little while then, " Bofur pointed towards the center of the shaft, "You see that conveyor that brings the minerals and Ore from the deep earth? My team and I were using it as an elevator for a while. But eh," He coughed out this next bit." You aren't the only member of the Longbeard clan that is apparently predisposed to some weighty issues." It was Bofur turn to be a little self conscious , and he absent mindlessly fussed with his belt. " I'll save that sordid tale for another day."

Bombur remembers something Bifur had alluded too a few weeks ago asked, " Does this have anything to do with you being in a hole for an extended period of time?" Bofur stopped, and turned to look at his brother. " It does,.. but it's a long story that I think I'll save for another day."

The two of them continued up to the top Floors, here the Dwarves in training were packing up for the evening, and they joined a line of miners that were heading home or to the dining halls for dinner. The Brother parted way here, Bofur back to his flat and family, and Bombur with his raw materials headed back to his dorm.

Bombur's walk home was uneventful but he did run into Gimli and Gloin on the way and asked if either would like to join him tomorrow on the topside of the mountain. He explained that he was going to be crafting a walking stick and wouldn't mind the company while hiking the woods surrounding the lowlands of Erebor looking for materials. Both said they would join him but asked Bombur to first join them for supper.

Gloins home was hewn into the mountain like many of the homesteads with in the great city. It was a modest stead, two stories and five decent sized rooms. Gloin was a warrior , but also a council adviser to King Dain being also of the line of Durin ( Dain was his second cousin once removed). He on occasion did some entertaining and on this occasion Gloin wanted to catch up with Bombur. There were items that had been put off for years that that now needed to be discussed.

Kilrimi , Gloins wife was finished setting the table, she has prepared roast lamb, root vegetables, potatoes, carrots, and sourdough bread. She welcomed her son and husband home with hugs and kisses, and in her own boisterous way hurried them to the table while the food was hot. She had not ignored Bombur either grabbing his pack and setting it down next to the door with one strong hand and guiding Bombur towards her table with the other. Once all were seated and had said their thanks to Aulë and broke bread. Gimli and his mother , talked about their day as they ate, Gloin observed Bombur. It wasn't just how he had changed physically. Gloin was looking deeper. He remembered a lazy selfish Dwarf back then, whos only thoughts were food and drink. The Dwarf that sat before him now, was more contemplative. He was thoughtful and mindful of what he was doing, he looked to be thinking elsewhere anywhere but dinner which he ate, politely , but slowly. Gloin was wondering if he might finally be ready to take on the role of the kings honor guard that the family had originally promised him and his kin so long ago.

Gloin cleared his thought, " So, Bombur, you remember all those years ago when you were offered the position of Honor guard to the king under the mountain? Are you still interested in that position? "

Bombur paused, and though a moment, he shifted in his seat, while the other three looked on" Your going to offer that to me again after how badly I failed the last time?"

Gloin, sighed " Bombur, I have a feeling you want a second chance, and I'm simply offering it to you."

He really did feel that way, for years the remaining company had been disappointed in Bombur not being able to get out of his own head, but the last few weeks had started to show that he could and unknown to Bombur after the homecoming party , they had gotten together with King Dain and the council had decided to offer him that spot again, seeing as he had taken it upon himself to make efforts towards improvements and including working again and the council felt he should be rewarded .

Bombur, really didn't know what to say. " I'll consider your offer, and may accept after I get this last trip completed I just need to do this first. But please don't think I'm not honored, I'm just not sure that I'm worthy of that position just yet. "

Gloin accepted that answer. The rest of dinner was spent catching up on other stories, and news from the mines and the forges talking about where Gimli was in his training as a young warrior and ambassador. They talked until it was late then Bombur said good night and retired back to his Dorm.

The next day, He met up with Gimli around noon, "My Father was called away on business, It's not often enough I get out, I should probably do so more often" Bombur was glad to have company, and patted the younger dwarf on the back and they headed up to the main gates and out of the City.

They took the south trail towards the kingdom of Dale, Bombur was looking for one or two good straight dry branches , about four inches thick and around four feet long. Halfway to Dale Bombur found a nice branch, Gimili somewhat board by the task had tacking to throwing his axe at the larger trees from a distance , seeing how deep he he could get it to stick. "Hey, Gimili, " Bombur called after watching him for a bit. " I have what I need, if your ready we can head back. But, If you don't mind can I have a go at that? It's been a while since I've thrown an axe and I wonder how out of practice I am."

Gimili, smirked a bit and stroked his beard, then strode over to the tree he had sunk his axe into about 4 inches deep to retrieve it for Bombur.. " Here, he pointed to a tree about 5 yards away . Aim for that one see how deep you can get it. Bombur picked up the axe , felt it's weight, a few memories flooded back of Orc fights past, one particularly dark one that flitted briefly through his mind but was gone again like smoke. He shook it off, then drew back and released, the Axe embedded nearly to it's handle. " Still got it" Bombur stretched his arms over his head, chuckled to himself,and headed back to Erebor, with Gimili a little behind having to wiggle his weapon out of the tree.

Having gathered everything he needed to start his projects Bombur spent one last night in his room before heading to the forges . Normally his bed would be a comfortable haven , but this night he was haunted by bad dreams. Shades in the woods, Orc fights a the screams of a women and a Child, Parades of faces long dead, faces of friend and family he felt responsible for . He tossed and turned , the dreams kept changing, near the end he was in a dark tower, he saw shades gathered and a witch king, he caught talk of a plot to attack Erebor, by offering Dain the dwarves rings of power. But Bombur was not sure it this was memories or old stories or something new. His head buzzed with a loud crackling hum, like lightning that was drawn out for a long time. He felt different at this part, like he was immaterial. Suddenly one of the shades looked right at hm and he work up in a cold sweat shivering.

The room was silent. Dark and it felt colder then it should. He knew he wouldn't sleep again that night and decided to gather his things and head back down to the warmth of the forges and maybe start work a little early. He got dressed , and though about the dark images on his way down through the quite halls. Each step contemplating the images and meanings of the dreams. Not wanting to put a face to the screams he heard, but tearing up at thinking about the faces he saw. He still blamed himself particularly for Thorin's death, and Gloin re-offering him a position of honor guard might have triggered it. He failed so miserably last time. Unable to protect his king and kin. Even though nothing probably could of changed they fate of those three, Due to Thorins madness and the way the battle had played out Bombur had secretly harbored a great guilt all those years because he should have been fighting at their side. He did think that once he returned from the trip to Rivendell that he may take up the position but not as a honor but as a penitence. While his thoughts were on Rivendell, the bit of the dream with the rings and witch king flashed thru his mind. He should talk to Elrond about that. Elvish wisdom might be worth some insight, and Elrond was one of few Elves that the Dwarves trusted since he was kind enough to open his home to them.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 ( rev 1)

Bombur skipped Breakfast because when he got down to the forges it was too early and he was too unnerved from that nights visions. He set up shop at a bench in the corner near a forge set to smoldering for the night. And began whittling the oak branch down a bit for Bilbo's walking stick prepping it for precious metal inlays , once that was done he got o work on two small bows, presents for his nephews he hadn't seen in years . He didn't get along well with Bofurs wife , and he hoped the silver tray he was crafting for Ástknút would soften her disposition a little although he didn't blame her it had been a difficult time in his life when they met and he had for a long time been seen as not much more then a lazy selfish dwarf that took from others, he was staying with his brother at the time he met Ástknút . He had just found it easier then living alone at his flat in the high halls. Bombur never made a very good impression on her. It was Ástknút that eventually pushed Bofur to move him out so they could make a life together. Bofur was the one working after all and it was his home , having earned his position of head foreman in the most dangerous yet rewarding of the mines in Erebor, at the time all Bombur did was sit around and eat. So she convinced Bofur to move back to his flat.

Bombur sighed at that memory, the next time they met after that was at the birth of the Twins a few years latter, and the last time he had seen her was at the Twins 10th Birthday party. He had gotten carried away and accidentally ate their cake. After that he was banished from their house so Bofur would just come to see him. It was now near noon, and Bombur was separating out molds for the four daggers he was crafting for Elrond, and had selected a form for Ástknút tray, once everything was in place he planned on melting the metals after lunch break and hoped to have at least a few items refined by the end of the week. He figured he would need gifts to buy his brothers time away from home and try to appease his sister in law. He did look forward to seeing his Nephews though. Buthur and Buias were nearing their 30th Birthdays and would be expected to start a trade soon.

That afternoon

Bombur got busy on the metal work hammering out shaping and grinding the daggers , then inlaying the molten metals for the walking staff and bows,then pouring the mold for the platter . He let them cool over night before returning to them the next morning. He had let himself sleep in a little his night untroubled by dreams. Her got to work finishing the details on the daggers and getting them set in their hilts, and polishing the wooden objects then he pried out the serving tray from it's mold and began polishing and smoothing it into a mirror finish. He inlay a few rubies around the edges, and Hoped the effort would soften Ástknút . It was near the end of shift when he finished all his presents . And he had made arrangements to meet Bofur at his home for diner.

The discussion of that had not gone the best. Bombur has made the request , both brother knew Bofurd wife disliked him, but Bombur felt he should make amends with family first and wanted to smooth things a bit before taking his brother on a long trip away from home. He had asked if Bofur had said anything about him to his wide. " No" was his answer, " She doesn't like talking about you to be honest. Thinks your a bad influence on the kids and I haven't said anything. Best to let her come to her own opinion, but If you insist on trying to smooth things over be my guest, but don't be surprised if she is stubborn . "

Bombur knew what he was in for, but wanted to try anyway. He gathered his items into a large sack, and headed up to his Flat to get washed up an change , he wanted to try to make a good impression. Feeling like he was walking on egg shells already and he hadn't even left his flat yet. He dressed in finer clothing, made sure he looked neat put on a grey over coat and tucked his beard into it. Before grabbing the sack and heading down to his brothers house. A little while latter he was near his brother house, he could hear the yelling already inside, Bofur had told her they were expecting company for diner but apparently only had just told her who.

Ástknút yelled, "I made diner for five dwarves not an army! And ,You know how I feel about him! Last time he was hear he ate half our larder and ruined the twins birthday! "

She stormed around the kitchen taking inventory of the food she had prepared and was thinking what else she could make quickly, or if she should just put it all away and let them all go hungry that night. To cook more or pronounce the kitchen closed, " she grunted in frustration, she was fuming, at her husband for not telling her WHO was coming.. "Lazy, Fat brother of yours," she stomped around now .

Bofur tried to calm her knowing Bombur would be along soon, " dear, dear, please just give him another chance."

"a Chance!, A CHANCE !' I tried to give him a chance, he never showed me a reason to give him a chance, threw his life away he did, choosing to do nothing, at least you and your broken cousin are doing something with yourselves."

By now the Twins were a little excited, " Dad" asked Buthur, "is Uncle Bombur really coming?" Bofur waved the kids away trying to clam their mother. Buthur turned to Buias and said" Last I heard Uncle Bombur was the size of a small Mûmakil , we'll probably feel the ground shake when he gets close anyway. "

Bombur was still standing outside when he noticed someone had knocked over a lamp darkening the inside, he figured that it would be best just to knock and interrupt the commotion before it escalated any further. So he knocked a few times on the door , hands full of his sack, and it got quiet .

He heard the boys yell in unison that they would get the door, and a second latter it opened and he smiled down at them , not having seen his nephews in years.

From the darkness behind them her heard their mother exclaim. " Look just as fat as ever!" She started to launch into a tirade but Bombur took a step inside as Bofur got the lamp, and he put the sack down, extending his arms to hug his two nephews. Ástknút bit her tongue realizing she was looking at a back lit sack plus Bombur , and not just her brother in law.

Bombur, addressed her kindly as he could, " Sorry you think so, I'll get to work on that Ástknút, but I'm not sure what else is left to lose ." Ástknút was still a little shocked, Bofur just quietly smiled glad to accept stunned silence rather then a continued browbeating.

" Is that really you Uncle Bombur? " asked Buias, he was the slightly stockier of the two twins, and he had inherited his uncle and grandmothers Red Hair, Buthur's was dark brown like his fathers and he was taller.

" Aye, it is" Bombur knuckled his nephew gently on top of his head, " and, how you two have grown. Almost time to choose a trade aren't ya?"

Ástknút scoffed to herself, but having shaken off her initial shock and embarrassment decided to usher the group into the dining room for supper. " Come-on all of you , we can talk over diner, Bombur this way if you please"

"Right after you my dear" he picked the sack up and followed behind, giving his Brother a amused head nod.

Once she had the men seated Ástknút set about serving them, still not to sure what to think of Bombur. Twice he had to motion to her that he had plenty. When she finally sat down they got to talking about life. Bombur made sure to thank Ástknút for her cooking and tell her it was wonderful. He figured anything to try to sooth her ruffled attitude. She still wasn't sure what to think of all this, if this really was her brother in law. She was almost more annoyed at how good he looked now, grasping at strings to stay mad at him. Her boys were having a good time, the men talked of when they were their ages , and how the three of them chose their careers.

Heh, she thought to herself, Bombur had a career? She hadn't even thought of that, listening to the tales of how he was the head smith in the forges of the Blue Mountains. Apparently looked up to in his prime. She wondered what exactly had happened to change all that? Feeling a little pity for him now, hearing some of the stories of great commissions he had done for nobility and kings. Slowly she cooled.

Her sons wanted to hear more of these tales and it was time to clear the table. She made a move to get up, but Bombur got up when she did and offered to clear the table instead and told her to sit. Again she wasn't sure how to take that, she had been mad at him for so long, having firmly ingrained his sloven nature into her idea of who Bombur was . This handsome polite dwarf just didn't fit her perception , although this would explain why his brother had defended him for so long. Bofur had always told her, his brother wasn't the dwarf she had met. She sat with her boys, as the brothers got up to clean the plates. Buthur and Buias excitedly talked about their father and uncles jobs about mining and the forge, a little more excited about choosing their careers now. A few minutes latter Bofur and Bombur returned Bofur lit his pipe and Bombur pulled the sack closer.

Bofur brought up that he and Bombur had been planing a trip to Rivendell and would be leaving in the morning. Before his wife could say anything. Bombur jumped in " I know it's short notice, but we need to leave before it gets much later in the year and travel over the mountain becomes more dangerous, I'm sorry Ástknút, I know this is short notice, but things have happened pretty fast the last few months and Bofur is going to help me ties up a few loose ends. I came here tonight to try to make amends with you before we leave. I know you don't like me for very good reason I haven't given you much reason too in the past and I want to try to make up for that. Here."

at this point Bombur pulled the platter out of the sack,

" I made this for you, special, I know it's not much but please take it as a start of a long road to earn your respect Ástknút." Bombur pulled out the jeweled tray. It reflected Ástknút and Bombur in it for a second, the rubies caught the light in the room and sparkled, it had knot work etched all along the rim, and was beautiful. " You made this?" she carefully took the tray, " for me?"

This was the first new work Bofur had seen Bombur create in nearly 100 years and for him it brought back a flood of memories. It was still beautiful and impressive craft. Ástknút turned it over slowly in her hands, " Ok, I forgive you, holding this I see you weren't making up tales about your ability, and I'm not sure what happened to you that you strayed so far from your path but I see your back on it now and I give my blessing to go do what you need to do with my husband. " Bombur was relived to hear this. "and Bombur, you are welcome in our home at any time. "

" That is good to hear sister, and now for my nephews" Bombur reached back down in the sack and pulled out the two adorned bows for the young dwarves. " These for some hunting practice, your father , I and some young princes, were all trained with the bow before we were trained with the hammer. It's a good skill to learn and comes in handy on long walks." The twins took there bows and quivers and looked them over. Like their mothers platter their Uncle had inlaid the bows with silver and a few jewels, carved delicate knots and runes for protection and good hunting. They thanked him, then the family spent the next few hours talking about plans and catching up. It was the most at peace Bombur had been in a long time. Near midnight he gave Ástknút a hug . She squeezed him tight " Your right, their no excess to take off. I'm sorry I called you fat when you got here. " She gave him a peck on his cheek. " Apology accepted " He chuckled , and at that Bombur headed back to his room, Bofur and him were heading out in the morning for Dale and eventually lake town and would be getting an early start.

After he left, Ástknút turned to Bofur , and smacked him.. "Why didn't you tell me about his past and what he had been up to the past few months!?" Bofur just sighed and got ready for bed.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 ( rev 1)

The next morning Bombur got up early and met his brother at breakfast, they had their bags packed , with everything they would need for the nearly 500 mile long hike. Going down the check lists, tent, bow, mattock, daggers, walking sticks, pans, blankets, dry food, canteen, change of clothing, and their coats and hiking attire... check check check. They let everyone know there planed route The brothers bid farewell to their companions and Bofur kissed his wife and kids goodbye. The brothers started the first leg of their journey, down the mountain towards Dale to grab a few more supplies for the road and secure passage to Laketown. They planed to then take a boat on the river running, to the old forest road thru Mirkwood. Then straight to the mountain pass, and on to Rivendell, it was the most direct route.

They headed out , it was a nice morning early, the fog was only just beginning to lift from the path down the mountain pass towards Dale. Blue skys shone brightly above the tall pine trees. Weighty packs settling on their backs , they ran into a few merchants both men and dwarves go to of from Erebor, along the trade routes. In less then an hour they had arrived in the Human city, and were in the process of securing a boat down river, The first day was very uneventful and allowed for some laid back planing and detailing of their routes. Gordon the ferry man talked with them about rumors they had heard about Orcs still walking the south road, and cautioned them if they choose to take that path. Although reports weren't as frequent it still wasn't truly considered the safest route. He dropped them off at Laketown, now smaller and the part of the greater Kingdom of Dale, but still a port on the lake.

After that Bofur and Bombur secured he next boat down river a six hour ride to the southern passage. After about three hours, Bombur got fidgety , " I think I'm more cramped and tired now from sitting still in this boat, then I ever was walking from to the mountain the first time . " Bombur stretched best he could in the small space, even with shorter legs the added space taken up by their packs on the small boat already full of trade supplies made even that difficult. Bofur was also a bit cramped but his brother complaining about sitting still made him chuckle . " That sentence would of never come out of your mouth year ago. " This earned a glare from his younger brother. Carr their boatman interjected " We are over half way, just a bit longer now. Although if it will make you more comfortable your welcome to come up here and help me steer. There area few rocks up ahead and an extra man on the poles is helpful.." Bombur took advantage of that, glad for an excuse to get up. " Now, take this extra hook and keep us away from any large boulders that we might drift towards. " Bombur spotting and avoiding rocks became a bit of a game that lasted the next hour. Carr also tried to make the time go by a bit faster with tales of trips down river and news from what he had heard from travelers who had headed up from the Sea of Rhûn .

Finally, the boat turned to the west and they landed on the dock at the head of the old forest road. As the Dwarves gathered their packs and paid Carr the rest of his fare. He wished them luck and cautioned them to be careful as Mirkwood although less dangerous then before the Battle of the five armies was still not a path considered safe. Orcs still had been seen along the road and since it is not used much is very overgrown . They thanks him for the ride and warning gathered their packs and started a bit down the road .

They Hiked about two more hours before they began to look for a good spot to make camp. Finding a clearing in a raised thicket not too far from a little stream. The forest wasn't too thick here yet, and Bofur was able to snare a decent sized rabbit for supper. He let Bombur cook it as was his job since they were young and they settled in for the night. The next few days were uneventful and when by much like the first although the forest was getting thicker and darker around them , it wasn't as bad as the last time they when thru and the sun reached much deeper into the trees. They had covered another 90 miles by day four and were hitting a good pace. Although they were beginning to see evidence of spiders and decided to be a little more cautions of where they stepped . Not wanting to meet up with any of those creatures again. That night they made camp but took turns sleeping to keep a watch ,since they had heard things moving in the dark. Bombur sat up sharpening his Axe by the fire, rustling made him uneasy but was just an owl catching a mouse nearby. Around 3am he woke his Brother to take the next watch, although sleep didn't come from him easily and was disturbed by bad dreams. The next day they continued on a little more sluggishly having a later start from the longer night.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Elves far south

A few hours latter they heard hoofbeats coming up behind them, The Brother readied there weapons and faced the noise. Two horses with Blond wood elves astride came over the ridge from their north and relived the Dwarfs hailed them as friends.

The elves introduced themselves " Good afternoon friend Dwarves, we are Celeblas and Lalf, may we inquire as to what brings you to the forest road ?"

" Bofur, at your service" and "Bombur at your service" The brothers bowed in turn. Bofur continued, " We are dwarves of Erebor on a trek to Rivendell for trade and choose the south road for passage."

" Well meet friend dwarf, may be rest with you a spell?" Lalf, asked

"Certainly," replied Bombur, " It's close to noon and we were getting ready to take a break anyway, you can join us."

" Gladly, we wanted to ask if you had seen or heard anything strange on the road" Celeblas state lightly dismounting his steed. " My brother and I are part of King Thranduil's Guard and had been tracking reports of Orcs thru the south woods. We only ventured this far south because we have been checking for orcs at the boarder. Have you seen any evidence in your travels."

"No, but we saw evidence spiders and have been cautioned several times to be wary" Bofur squeezed his matlock a little tighter, taking a warning from the elves very seriously.

They talked for a bit then went their separate ways , the Elves headed back north , as the Dwarves trekked deeper into the woods to the west. The atmosphere grew a little heavier as they went deeper on the forest road as the woods closed in tighter to the path. Bombur opened up a little to his brother about some of the night mares he had had before they left and they talked for a bit. Bofur playing consular to his brother for the next hour. They weren't too sure how late it was when they stopped for camp, but they both felt uneasy and there wasn't going to be a significantly safe spot that night. They made camp in a clearing under a large tree, that night they were roused by noises in the dark but didn't see anything. They slept lightly the rest of the night . The next day they rushed breakfast and got on the move again they had another hundred miles to go to cross the rest of the forest and they felt uneasy here..

The orc scout that had awoken the dwarves that night had returned with two more in tow , and were trailing the dwarves towards an area better suited for ambush. As day passed on and the dwarves walked deeper into the woods , they made conversation to pass the time. Bombur had wanted to take an inventory of what weapons they brought with them again, and they stopped for a moment to shift a few items in there backs for easier reach, Bombur took the two hatchets they used for clearing the trail and placed them on the outside of the pack, Bofur, moved his Mattock , the light crossbow , a few bolts and the finely crafted daggers to a spot easier to reach.,. They kept walking. Soon they came to an out cropping of rock that narrowed the trail. There was a sheer cliff on one side and think briars on the other. The path twisted thru this but they couldn't see where it ended because it was lost after 30 feet. At this point they heard another branch snap to there left , something was close by, decided to make a run for it, they began to move quickly thru the woods. 200Lb packs now jangling, heads down trying to navigate the narrow root covered path, they hear it. A sound of snapping branches not far back, the orcs wanted them to move forward into the narrow passage making them easier to catch. they had only made it 20 feet into the narrow passage when the first orc came up behind them. Followed by two more orcs on foot. They ran faster , Bombur in the lead, a moment latter he looked back realizing Bofur was no longer next to him as he had sprinted off, Turning he saw 30 or more feet behind an orc close on his brothers heels. Knowing what he needed to do, In one swift movement Bombur ditched his pack and grabbed the Hatchet , he slammed his feet into the rock cliff wall, coiled up and Sprung like a cat, the 20 feet left between his advancing brother and himself, twisting in the air he landed his feet square on the orcs chest, forcing the air out of the beast and forcing it into the ground hard. He then drove the hatchet into it's temple. This only knocked the wind the out of thick skulled monster and stunned it for a few minutes. But the maneuver bought them precious seconds towards readying themselves for a fight and hopefully an escape route. Bofur ditched his pack and garbed a weapon to fight with, the two brothers back to back against the next two orcs. The orcs in pair rapidly decedented towards Bombur who was still standing on the other unconscious scouts chest. He had just retrieved his hatchet from the orcs temple, and was making the decision of where to place it next between the other rapidly advancing two. Bofurs Ax cartwheeled past him landing square in the first orcs chest dropping him dead in an instant with his chest cleaved in two.

Bombur took this opportunity to land his hatchet in the other Orcs jugular, bisecting the artery , grabbing his dagger he finished the last scout by slitting his throat. They didn't waste time getting the packs back on and sprinting out of the gully and to higher grounds. Leaving the first orc unconscious and out of their minds.

Bombur and Bofur decided after twenty miles of jogging that they were safe enough to make camp. Also because by then they were both exhausted , having been on high alert and not of seeing another orc the rest of the day. After setting a fire and gathering some available root vegetables and snaring another rabbit they set a stew to cook and discussed the days events. They decided at this point that it was a is just a scattered tribe. What they didn't know was that those scouts had ties to Suaron followers who had started rebuilding his armies. The injured orcs had already regained consciousness and was heading back to Dol Guldur.


End file.
